Cost of living comparison
compared to
P'yongyang vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary
P'yongyang is 37.9% cheaper than Asmara.
P'yongyang vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in P'yongyang instead of Asmara, you would:
pay 11.0% less for restaurants
|
Asmara
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
ERN315.00
|
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.99
ERN89.85
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.00
ERN15.00
|
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.00
ERN15.00
|
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
|
Asmara vs. P'yongyang - Cost of restaurants
pay 48.3% less for groceries
|
Asmara
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
?? |
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$1.50
ERN22.50
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.06
ERN90.85
|
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.38
ERN65.70
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$12.17
ERN182.57
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$5.54
ERN83.16
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
ERN8.69
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.91
ERN13.61
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
ERN7.94
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.82
ERN12.25
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.42
ERN6.35
|
?? | |
Asmara vs. P'yongyang - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
Asmara
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$9.46
ERN141.95
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass |
$8.00
ERN120.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$66,666.00
ERN1000K
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? | ?? |
Asmara vs. P'yongyang - Cost of transportation
pay 59.9% less for housing
|
Asmara
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$250.00
ERN3,750.00
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$19.12
ERN286.76
|
?? | |
Asmara vs. P'yongyang - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Asmara
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$25.00
ERN375.00
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,600.00
ERN39,000.00
|
?? |
Asmara vs. P'yongyang - Cost of childcare
pay 4.3 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Asmara
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$0.60
ERN9.00
|
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$0.80
ERN12.00
|
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? | ?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$27.00
ERN405.00
|
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$1.20
ERN18.00
|
?? | |
Asmara vs. P'yongyang - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Asmara
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$135.00
ERN2,025.00
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$120.00
ERN1,800.00
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$150.00
ERN2,250.00
|
?? |
Asmara vs. P'yongyang - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Asmara vs. P'yongyang
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Eritrea vs. North Korea.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Eritrea and North Korea.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about P'yongyang or Asmara. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.